


New New New Doctor

by parttimefemmefatale (writingramblr)



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: AU Rose Stays, Eleventh Doctor AU - Freeform, Episode: s04e12 The Stolen Earth, Episode: s04e13 Journey's End, F/M, Journey's End AU, OTP Feels, Regeneration, The Stolen Earth AU, better cliffhanger resolution with science, slightly OOC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-21
Updated: 2014-02-21
Packaged: 2018-01-13 06:29:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1216069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingramblr/pseuds/parttimefemmefatale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if during Journey's End/Stolen Earth, instead of funneling the energy into his spare hand, the Doctor *had* regenerated? </p><p>This is a look at how that could have gone.</p><p>And Rose Tyler has fought so hard to get back to him, it's hardly fair she should be forced to leave him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New New New Doctor

**Author's Note:**

> This came about simply as a way for me to try and learn to like 11 a bit better. for some reason i'm just having a hard time with it. So i decided to write a couple stories in this AU verse, with Rose getting to travel with him. It's not to say i'll be doing an entire re-write of season 5, but if that happens, it happens.  
> this can be read stand alone, but there will be another story that takes place, acknowledging this as a sort of canon.  
> and if the Doctor, as 11 seems ooc, it's because i've only seen about 3 episodes of his. hopefully writing these stories will motivate me to watch more! if not, at least i had fun!

The Doctor could feel the hard pavement beneath his feet. He was running as fast as he could. He couldn’t believe it. Rose was here. Rose was back on earth, _her_ earth, in this world, with him.

He was now only a block away, as he had started running at the same time that she had.

Then disaster struck, a Dalek rolled into the street between them, and fired at The Doctor before he could duck out of the way.

Rose watched in horror as he collapsed to the ground, his skeleton lit up from the inside for an instant.

“Oh my god!”

She yelled, and before the Dalek could do any more damage, Jack appeared out of nowhere and shot it with Rose’s gun, which she’d tossed aside the moment she’d spotted the Doctor. Only a smoking twisted hunk of metal remained in the street. Rose barely spared it a glance.

“No, don’t do this. Don’t leave me.”

She had fallen to the ground beside the Doctor’s prone body, and was cradling him in her arms, tears already streaming down her face. She couldn’t believe the cruelty of the universe. She had only been reunited with him for a few seconds before he was being taken away.

She didn’t want that future. She’d fought so hard to prevent that future. The Doctor _couldn’t_ die.

“It’s alright Rose.”

She looked down at him, and saw he was smiling, despite the pain evident in his features,

“How can you say that? You’re dying.”

The Doctor shook his head,

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten. Time Lord trick, I’m _near_ death, but not dying.”

Rose’s eyes widened as she realized what he was saying.

Already she could see the golden glow emanating from his trainer clad feet and his hands which were closed tight around her own.

“Should I do something?”

She blinked away the tears, still in shock, but slowly coming back to the present, with the reminder that this wasn’t the end, only the beginning of something new.

“Move back, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I promised forever.”

The Doctor looked as if he wanted to argue, but a spasm of pain wracked through his body and he lost his voice.

Within seconds, his form was enveloped in golden flames, and Rose had to let go of him just to shield her eyes from the brightness.

***

The Doctor felt the regeneration energy leave him slowly, like molasses from a jar in the winter. He opened his eyes slowly, and was delighted to see Rose still nearby. Though he’d tried to warn her away, he’d known she wouldn’t listen and for once he was glad.

“Hello.”

The same first greeting his last body had given her was his first in this new one. He hoped he was ginger. He hoped he had hair!

He reached up quickly, ascertaining with certainty he had _more_ hair than his last regeneration.

“Hello.”

Rose finally managed a reply, still slightly recovering from seeing the Doctor die and then return to life, looking quite different.

“Hello.”

Rose, for her part, didn't seem to mind it at all. She'd actually even stared at him so long he was worried he'd come back with two noses, or no nose.

“Don’t tell me, I’ve got no nose.”

Before Rose could nod or shake her head, he’d moved his hands all across his face, and was relieved to discover he still had a normal looking face, albeit one with very fine eyebrows.

“I’ve still got legs! That’s always good. Never know about those.”

He wiggled said legs, and was dismayed to see his ankles. His pants had gotten shorter, so he must have gained a few inches of height this time.

“Would you like to try and stand up?”

Rose spoke again, and he looked over at her, beaming from ear to ear, which come to think of, were rather large, but thankfully flat, nothing like his ears from the regeneration that had first met Rose.

“Fantastic…er no that’s wrong. Ah, brilliant! Wait, I think something new is in order. New face, new ears, a nose, and Geronimo!”

He leapt up without an ounce of caution, and Rose nearly had to catch him to keep him from collapsing back to the pavement.

“Whoops! You’re not quite ready to stand yet after all. You might need a day of rest, like you did last time.”

The Doctor looked at Rose, befuddled and bemused for a minute, almost ready to agree, before he remembered the problems at hand.

“Plenty of time to nap later Rose. I’m a different man this time. I’ve given the Daleks plenty of second chances. This time I will be making sure they can’t hurt anyone anymore. Because right now it’s time to save the Earth, and all the other worlds they’ve decided to steal! Jack, give me a hand would you?”

Jack Harkness stepped forward, lowering the massive gun he’d used on the unfortunate Dalek that had managed to land a shot on the Doctor.

“I would, but your hand’s back in the TARDIS.”

He gave a smirk and the Doctor rolled his eyes,

“You know very well what I mean Captain. Oh, that wasn’t sarcasm, I really meant it. Do I not have any patience this time?”

The Doctor looked to Rose, as if she might have the answer, but she could only shrug.

“You’re stubborn, that’s for sure.”

“Ah but brilliant! And clever. So clever, these Daleks won’t see us coming for miles. They think I’m dead, well, it’s time we show them what a difference dying makes in a man.”

Rose lifted a dark blond eyebrow at that, and the Doctor grinned at her,

“I’m a bit poetic aren’t I?”

“A bit. Waxing philosophy won’t defeat the Daleks though.”

“Right you are. To the TARDIS!”

***

After the confrontation on Davros’s ship, the defeat of the Daleks, and the towing of the Earth back home, The Doctor was finally able to sneak a look in the mirror.

What he was wasn’t entirely satisfying, but a far cry from distressing.

He wasn’t ginger, alas, but he was still a bit pretty. All Rose’s doing, he was certain. The fact she’d managed to hold onto him just seconds before he regenerated was impressive. She’d stared at him so long he was afraid perhaps he’d come back looking as old as he had before regenerating the first time.

Thankfully not. In fact he looked rather young. Even younger than Rose.

Jack spoke first, poking fun at his new appearance,

"I can't tell you what I'm thinking right now, you're much too young for that kind of talk."

This was punctuated with a wink in Rose's direction.

The Doctor frowned, but didn’t miss the look Rose gave him. Definitely some appreciation mixed with trepidation.

“It’s okay Rose, it’s still me.”

She stepped forward, past the console, and stood right in front of him. She reached up, and her hand traced over his face, across the planes of his cheekbones, and up to the fine eyebrows, that almost vanished into his high forehead. Floppy brown hair covered most of it, and the familiar look reminded her of her Doctor, the old Doctor, and she fought back tears again, this time managing to hold them in.

“It’s you. You look so different, but it’s like I can see you in there, in those eyes.”

The Doctor looked hopeful,

“Are they pretty eyes?”

Jack laughed from across the room, startling them both,

“Yes Doctor, you’ve got a pretty face, and that includes your eyes.”

The Doctor shot him a glare,

“Isn’t it time we took you home?”

Jack held up his hands in surrender,

“Long past I’m sure. But I think ladies first.”

He nodded to Martha, who shrugged,

“I’m going your way Jack. Torchwood. So let’s take Sarah Jane home first.”

The Doctor looked over at the brunette, whose face was aged and weathered by time, but still beautiful, the lovely girl he’d once traveled with still inside.

“Yes Doctor, please take me home. I bet Luke is probably wondering if I’m alright.”

She looked wary of him, but when he walked her outside the TARDIS, and moved in to give her a brief hug, she flew into his embrace.

“Oh Doctor. Promise you’ll take care of yourself, and Rose. After all her hard work, she deserves your very best.”

The Doctor smiled,

“And you know I only take the best. I promise. Now run home Sarah Jane, and don’t forget me.”

The familiar words tugged at her heartstrings, and she waved goodbye as the TARDIS began to dematerialize.

***

Saying goodbye wasn’t easy, but the Doctor knew it wasn’t forever.

Jack and Martha walked away with Mickey, who’d surprised them all by asking to stay on earth, this earth.

Before letting Jack get away with his transporter watch, the Doctor soniced it, and made him promise not to make any attempt to fix it.

“And get rid of that key thing Martha, there’s a good girl.”

He’d ignored the eye roll and only heard the “Yes of course.”

By the time he returned to the TARDIS, it was only Donna and Rose left.

“Time for one more stop I think.”

Before his mouth could form the words “Bad Wolf Bay,” Rose had stepped closer, and set her hand firmly over his, stopping its movement on the console.

  
“No. I’m staying. I said forever, and I meant it. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

The Doctor felt his hearts soar, and he looked up at her in disbelief,

“I thought because, the whole changing all over again, that you’d be glad to be home.”

Rose gave him a watery smile,

“Are you kidding? It’s taken me two years to find you, get to you, and I almost lost you again. I’m not going anywhere.”

They shared a long look before a cough interrupted them.

“Oi, if it’s not too much trouble spaceman, I’d like to go home. I’m ready for a bit of a vacation if you don’t mind.”

The Doctor turned to beam at his favorite redhead, who currently looked mad enough to throttle him. His hand slipped up to rub his neck unconsciously,

“Absolutely! Hmm. Never saying that again. Vacation. Yes of course. Not a problem at all. Donna Noble, I think by all rights you’ve earned a leaf of absence. However, if I ever need you, take this.”

He plucked a silver rectangle from the TARDIS console, and the screen glowed blue before going dark.

“Universal cellular. Anywhere I am, it’ll call me. When you’ve grown bored of sun and sea, give us a call.”

He glanced at Rose briefly, long enough to catch her delighted expression, and then turned back to Donna, who, to his surprise moved forward to hug him.

She’d not done that in ages, and it was a first to him in this body. He was almost a full head taller than her, and she let go quickly, reaching up to ruffle his hair.

“You better do something with that. You’re already a bad driver, best not impede your vision anymore than necessary.”

Before he could protest, she smiled at Rose,

“Make sure he does.” Then she looked back up at the Doctor,

“Sarcastic you may not be, and poetic and all, but you’re still the Doctor, and you’ve got Rose now. So don’t mess it up.”

The Doctor actually felt a bit teary at Donna’s final words, but he shook them away with a grin,

“I know it! Now go enjoy good ol Planet Earth, and give Wilf a shout for me.”

“Oi, call him yourself.”

‘Defiant to the end, that Donna Noble.’ The Doctor thought to himself as he watched her go.

Once the TARDIS had taken off into the vortex, and they were drifting, the Doctor turned to Rose, an expectant expression on his face.

“What shall we do? Where would you like to go?”

Rose sighed heavily, and she looked as if she’d had a weight lifted from her shoulders. Now that the battle was over, and she was finally home, to her, the TARDIS would always be home, she just wanted to sleep.

“I’d like to go to bed. If my room is still around here that is.”

The Doctor nodded, and gestured wildly down a corridor,

“I think it’s that way.”

Rose looked amused,

“You think?”

“Yes, well, you never know. She might have moved it closer, or further, or just down there.”

Rose almost laughed, but she was too tired.

“I suppose I’ll find it, all by myself.”

The Doctor’s eyes flitted over to her face and up to her own eyes so fast she became blurry.

Was she asking him to escort her to her room?

Just to ensure she arrived safely.

Why wouldn’t she?

She was still looking at him, and when she held out her hand, he reached for it automatically.

“Come on. It’s an adventure that ends with sweet dreams.”

The first door they came to down the corridor was indeed Rose’s room.

The small carved rose on the side, just above the door handle was the most obvious sign.

The amount of pink and yellow decorations inside was the next.

Rose made a beeline for the bed, kicking off her shoes and tossing her blue leather jacket onto the nearest chair.

She snuggled atop the covers, grabbing a pillow and hugging it close.

The Doctor began to step back, happy to leave her alone to get some rest, but she had sat up, and was looking at him strangely.

“Where are you going?”

The Doctor raised a hand to run it through his longer hair, and as it simply flopped back over his forehead, he started to realize how much sense Donna had been making.

“Ah, back to the console room, I think I saw a loose switch on the front. Near where Mickey had been driving.”

Rose was too sleepy to roll her eyes, so she used her last remaining energy to wave him forward,

“Don’t be silly. You need your rest. Regeneration remember? You’ll have to sleep sometime, you might as well stay with me. Just until I fall asleep. Just so I know this isn’t just a dream.”

The Doctor gulped, before starting towards her.

He knew she was right.

He knew it couldn’t hurt.

But as he’d laid down beside her, and smelled the scent of her hair, so familiar and yet so new to these senses, he didn’t feel like leaving. Once he’d heard the way her breathing slowed as she began to fall asleep, he knew he couldn’t get back up.

He couldn’t leave her.

He didn’t dare.

His eyes fell shut just as he heard a whisper,

“I love you.”

He smiled, and nudged closer, daring to put his arm over her waist, after all, it was only a hug, just one while lying down.

“Goodnight my dear Rose.”

***

**END**


End file.
